Super El Niño set to cause ‘terribly dangerous’ drought in the AmazonMon, 07 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 The El Niño phase now under way will be the most damaging on record for the Amazon, scientists warn, raising the risk of catastrophic wildfires | |
I made a free AI chatbot solve a decade-long maths problem in 13 minutesMon, 07 Sep 2026 16:09:29 +0000 After months covering the shocking rise of AI mathematics, reporter Matthew Sparkes decided to put a free chatbot to the test – and was shocked at the speed at which it solved an outstanding problem | |
We’re on the verge of seeing the quantum vacuum for the first timeMon, 07 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Quantum theory says a vacuum isn’t truly empty, but proving it directly has remained out of reach. A new experiment using immensely powerful lasers could finally expose its hidden structure – and perhaps offer clues to dark matter | |
The best new popular science books of September 2026Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000 Dive into new titles from major names including Carlo Rovelli, Maggie Aderin, Xand van Tulleken and Jim Al-Khalili, as well as a new biography of Stephen Hawking | |
Laughter therapy may help people with chronic lung diseaseMon, 07 Sep 2026 04:01:00 +0000 An eight-week course of self-administered laughter therapy helped a small number of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease breathe more easily | |
Fermat’s last theorem formalised by AI agents in just 11 daysSat, 05 Sep 2026 11:05:48 +0000 Converting the proof of Fermat's last theorem into code that computers can check was expected to take years. Anthropic's Claude AI managed it in less than two weeks | |
How worried should we be about the invasive mosquitoes in the UK?Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:24:46 +0000 Invasive mosquitoes that can carry viruses like dengue, chikungunya and Zika have been found breeding in east London | |
Super El Niño could have unexpected effect on UK winterFri, 04 Sep 2026 14:56:07 +0000 An El Niño is usually expected to herald a cold end to winter in the UK – but this year could be different | |
Lucid dreams induced via multisensory stimulationFri, 04 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Lucid dreams, when a person is aware they're dreaming and can often control them, could be induced in people who rarely experience them | |
Nations and big tech to train AI using ‘gold dust’ data from UkraineFri, 04 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000 Foreign states and technology firms are scrambling for data from the Ukraine war so they can train the next-generation of AI models that might be used in defence and national security | |